A Michigan gardening blog about gardening, preserving, cooking, local garden history and local garden happenings.
The goal of this blog is to encourage others to garden, provide useful tips, to assist the greater community via fundraising, and to raise awareness of community garden projects.
Michigan and Midwestern ecology, nature, animals, and plants are also discussed.

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Sunday, April 2, 2017

A Minimal March

March this year... I did not get much gardening done, to be honest.

We had a major wind storm that blew the roofs off of some people's homes. I skated by with a semi-demolished cold frame and a yard full of leaves and twigs. I think I can put the cold frame back together. I consider myself to be very lucky.

We also had a lot of cold weather and snow. So I haven't done much outside at all.

Shredded leaves make nice mulch.

Just this week, I was finally able to start some basic yard clean up. I am using the "windfall" of leaves to make mulch for my flower beds. I rake them up, put them through a shredder then spread them back over the garden beds. Shredding the leaves helps to make them look more presentable, allows them to break down more quickly, and keeps them from blowing around in the wind. The leaves should insulate the ground, hold in moisture, add good nutrients, add organic matter, encourage the growth of mycorrhizal fungi and attract earth worms as they break down. I have only finished cleaning up about 1/3 of my garden space. Hopefully I can get the rest done this April as the weather improves.

My seedlings have continued to grow. I re-potted some of the perennials. The tomatoes are nearly ready to be re-potted as well. They should all be ready to go into the garden by mid-May.

I have also continued to watch the wildlife in the garden. Last month, I counted 22 species since January. This month, I can add the following species to my count list:

I've been tracking my wildlife sightings on http://ebird.org and http://inaturalist.org. I recommend these to anyone with an interest in tracking what they see in nature and sharing their discoveries with others.

So that's about it for March. I hope to get a lot more done this April. Happy gardening, reader!

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About Me

I am a gardening enthusiast who lives in Michigan. I am a beginner blogger, and hope to improve with practice. I became a Master Gardener through the MSU Extension program in 2015. I work as a registered nurse (RN). I am married to a wonderful man, and have an adorable dog. I love my family, nature, the water, reading, learning and sleep. Thank you for reading my profile and/or blog!